On 11 September 2025, Asst.Prof.Dr. Jirawadee Polprasert, Assistant Dean for Continuing Study and Venture Builder and Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Naresuan University, Phitsanulok, Thailand, was invited to participate as a distinguished panelist at Enlit Asia 2025, held at BITEC, Bangkok during 9–11 September 2025.
She joined the international session titled:
“AI as a Catalyst for Digital Maturity in Utilities & IPPs – From Forecasting to Asset Optimisation.”
Insights and Outlook from Dr. Jirawadee’s Talk
Dr. Jirawadee emphasized that today’s utilities are experiencing a data explosion, generating unprecedented volumes of real-time information that AI can transform into actionable insights. She highlighted how predictive maintenancepowered by AI can reduce outages, prevent costly equipment failures, and lower operational costs. At the same time, smart load forecasting enables more efficient dispatch, helps optimize market revenues, and reduces curtailment. She also underscored the role of demand orchestration, where AI leverages flexible assets such as energy storage and data centers to balance peak loads. Finally, she presented the concept of grid self-healing, where AI detects faults and reroutes power within milliseconds, ensuring higher resilience and reliability for modern energy systems.
Future Outlook: AI in the Next 3–5 Years
Looking ahead, Dr. Jirawadee noted that AI will be central to shaping the next generation of energy systems. AI-powered microgrids and digital twins will enhance climate resilience and enable smarter renewable integration, while hydrogen and emerging fuels will be dynamically managed through AI to regulate production, storage, and seamless grid integration. She also pointed to proactive infrastructure conversion, where aging plants can be repurposed into hybrid hubs that co-locate renewables and data centers for more efficient deployment. The expansion of decentralized energy virtualization through AI-driven Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) and smart metering will further strengthen distributed energy management. In addition, AI in policy and governance will support more effective permitting, market modeling, and sustainable energy planning—paving the way for a resilient and decarbonized future.